Two studies were conducted. The first examined children's assessments of the social desirability of traits which they themselves considered to be either male-or female-stereotyped. It was found that both boys and girls preferred traits which they attributed to their own sex over traits which they attributed to the opposite sex. These findings were stronger for girls than for boys. Furthermore, girls judged traits they considered feminine to be more desirable than boys judged traits which they (boys) considered to be masculine. It was concluded that girls exceeded boys in preference for their own sex role. The second study examined teacher ratings of children whose self-concepts more or less reflected masculine vs. feminine norms. Teachers rated both academic ability and general social adjustment, including need for mental health referral. Among boys, those with more masculine self concepts were rated as inferior in adjustment and academic ability, although IQ was actually unrelated to masculinity. Among girls, masculine feminine self-concept was unrelated to teacher ratings. It was concluded that boys find themselves in conflict between sex-role consistency and teachers' expectations. (Author)